2002 toyota camry - 133000 miles. 2 days ago the check engine light came on and i took it to autozone and had the code P0420. took it to my mechanic and he said catalytic converter needs to be changed (without even having a look at the hood). took it to toyota dealer and he charged me for the diagnosis and finally said "2 codes found. P0420, P0446 (P0446 Not current) (P0420 current and history). Needs exhaust manifold and calibration. estimate $1200. After i took the car from the dealer, the check engine light is not on (just took for service & came back today - so far its not on). for the second code P0446 - he said it might be because of gas lid not closed properly and can ignore.
My mechanic says he can get the original cat converter for little less expensive since he deals with wholesale purchase and estimate is $900 (he says 3 years of warranty from toyota!!). I am wondering if he can really get original toyota part from outside for 200-300$ less ??? why cant toyota get that?
another question in my mind is how did the check engine light went off after the diagnosis?
please advise what would be suggested action.
Hi, its a 2.4 vehicle and not v6
One more thing (may be valuable) i could think of is, i overfilled my gas tank 2 weeks ago (by around .5 gallons) and was running very low on fuel when the check engine light came on. since the fuel went on low (when the check engine light was on) i filled fuel, again over filled by .4 gallons. please let me know if this will have any effect on the check engine light and the codes. but, will it have any impact on the P0420 code to come up ? I understand that th 0446 code could have been bcoz of this. please advise.
My mechanic says he can get the original cat converter for little less expensive since he deals with wholesale purchase and estimate is $900 (he says 3 years of warranty from toyota!!). I am wondering if he can really get original toyota part from outside for 200-300$ less ??? why cant toyota get that?
another question in my mind is how did the check engine light went off after the diagnosis?
please advise what would be suggested action.
Hi, its a 2.4 vehicle and not v6
One more thing (may be valuable) i could think of is, i overfilled my gas tank 2 weeks ago (by around .5 gallons) and was running very low on fuel when the check engine light came on. since the fuel went on low (when the check engine light was on) i filled fuel, again over filled by .4 gallons. please let me know if this will have any effect on the check engine light and the codes. but, will it have any impact on the P0420 code to come up ? I understand that th 0446 code could have been bcoz of this. please advise.